Smooth shift is one of the key issues in automatic power transmission control systems. However, the torque sensors are too expensive to be used in shift controllers on production vehicles. In order to provide a basic strategy for smooth shifting by using RPM sensors only and in order to accomplish the shift within a designated time, this paper studies detailed characteristics of the smooth shift for clutch-to-clutch shift mechanism. A desired trajectory of slip speed is proposed for smooth acceleration shift defined in this paper. Also the clutch torque needed to achieve this trajectory is derived, and it may be used as a open loop shift control law.